Keep your skin safe from the sun with Cosmetics from House of Fraser – Including Clinique, Mac and Kiehls

I’m looking out the window and I can’t help but smile, Summer is well and truly breaking through the grey. I never used to be a summer person, hayfever and super pale skin made me want to hide in the house all of the time but, these days, I love the warmth that comes with Summer, the feeling of sunlight on my skin (though I still can’t cope when it gets too hot). I think most of us are, totally, aware of how dangerous that feeling of sun on your skin is, though.

Sun care products are so, so important at this time of year, and when we have such fantastic beauty products that can give us a gorgeous tan rather than risking the sun exposure, it seems crazy to not invest in some products that’ll keep you skin safe. I have some favourite body and facial skin care products, already, so when I was asked to look at beauty products that House of Fraser offer which have sun care in them I couldn’t wait to look in to what cosmetics could give us that extra layer of protection.

One of the obvious beauty products to contain spf are foundations, tinted moisturisers and BB creams but it’s easy to forget about concealers. The eye area, and damaged skin (such as blemishes) are such sensitive places so it makes perfect sense to add even more sun care protection to them and, with some concealers, that’s exactly what you can do.

I hadn’t even thought about concealers, until I started looking at products, so I was thrilled to see that the Mac ‘Studio Finish Concealer’ has an spf of 35!

It’s a thick, high coverage concealer so it’ll help cover up those under eye bags and blemishes, as well as protecting from the sun. It might be a little too thick if you have a dry under eye area but if you pamper your eyes with a good eye cream (maybe one with an spf!) then that’ll help keep the area more suitable for a heavier duty concealer. I do find that most concealers settle in the lines under my eyes but I am trying to remember to use a setting powder and often find that patting product back in helps settle those lines.

It’s not the cheapest concealer on the market but for £15.50 you’re getting a high quality concealer that’ll also protect your skin from the sun!

Lip balm is another product which contains spf and the lips are something we really need to protect as they’re such a sensitive area of the body. This Kiehl’s lip balm is clear and thick, you might not want to wear it under lipstick but it’d be a great base under a lip gloss or if you were having a no makeup day. It feels fantastic on the lips and is really, really moisturising. It doesn’t have the highest spf ever but it has an spf of 4, and every little helps when it comes to these things. This lip balm is £9.50 and you only need the tiniest amount so it should last for ages.

Lastly, I wanted to find a product that adds to the finish of a look, rather than a base product, which had an spf. And in steps the Clinique ‘High Impact Lip Colour’ which has an spf of 15.

I struggled to find online swatches of the shades I liked the sound of, with these, so I had to go by faith in the website’s colour blocks. I went for ‘Honey Blush’ neutral but with the orangey tones that make it spring/summer worthy as well as a slight autumnal feel to it. I know that’s massively contradictory but I feel like this fits all of those seasons.

I’ve never owned a lipstick that’s quite this attractive, and sleek. Just look at that brushed metal tube! It feels amazing in the hands and there’s no doubting the quality, which I think you’d expect for a £17.50 lipstick.

One thing I hadn’t expected, when I picked the lipstick, was that it’d have a really fine glittery/shimmer in it. I have to admit, initially I was concerned. But look at that stunning colour!

As you can see the colour is a fantastic balance between a coral/orange nude and an autumnal orange nude – I think it’s the golden shimmer that gives it that autumnal feel. It’s so so beautiful. You can still see the glitter in the bottom swatch but it’s less obvious than in the tube and, rather than making it look glittery, it gives it a real light.

And here’s some on lip swatches (I’m not wearing any other make up in the photos so please forgive the red splodges and the pores). I used a couple of the photos as one shows the warmer tones and the other shows it in more of a neutral light.

You can see that the shimmer doesn’t show up as shimmer, at all, once on the lips, it just adds a radiance which is stunning. This isn’t a moisturising lipstick and it does take a little work to get it to sit perfectly on the lips but to balance that out this Is a Very long lasting lipstick. This is probably the most long lasting lipstick that I have (that isn’t a stain or a matte), it just stays and stays. I love the shade, I love the longevity and I love that it keeps my lips safe from the sun too!

So, I hope the post has helped you consider some more ‘out of the box’ ideas for sun protection. Skin care is, obviously, the perfect start at keeping your skin safe, foundation and something that covers your whole face is a great second step but there’s other little details, finishing steps, which add an extra layer of protection between you, and the damaging sun.